More than a month after the pharmaceutical giant declared that it would stop selling its talc-based baby powder globally in 2023, Maharashtra on Friday revoked Johnson & Johnson’s manufacturing licence.
According to reports, the state’s Food & Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the company’s authorization to produce baby powder after an inspection revealed that the product was of subpar quality.
Maharashtra Food & Drugs Administration has cancelled the manufacturing license of Johnson’s Baby Powder of Johnson’s & Johnson’s Pvt. Ltd., Mulund, Mumbai after samples of the powder drawn at Pune & Nashik were declared "Not of Standard Quality" by the govt pic.twitter.com/4iFIdNd9RI
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022
The ministry obtained samples from Pune and Nashik to examine for quality and discovered that the powder’s pH value was far higher than authorized.
The FDA then urged the US-based company to withdraw all of its stock and issue a show-cause notice because the usage of the product might harm newborn babies’ health and skin.
However, Johnson & Johnson dismissed the FDA report and said that it would contest it in court.
The corporation also asserted that the sample should be forwarded to the government of India’s Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata, which serves as the laboratory for referral.
J&J talcum powders, particularly infant powders, have been the subject of debate for many years. Consumers and survivors have filed more than 38,000 claims, some of which claim they suffered harm as a result of using the product.
The company’s statement announcing the discontinuation of the baby powder said “As part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, we have made the commercial decision to transition to an all cornstarch-based baby powder portfolio. As a result of this transition, talc-based J&J Baby Powder will be discontinued globally in 2023.”
